There used to be a time when men always used to meet women in a bar, or at a party – and they hooked up. Gone are those days; now meeting the girl of your dreams is just a couple of clicks away.

We give you some useful tips and guidelines on how to ensure that you succeed in online dating, while navigating the deep seas of fake profiles and expensive websites.

Get Over The Hesitation - You might find it a bit weird in the beginning to take the leap of creating a dating profile. Well, you can and if you are seriously looking for something, you should. You might be worried friends would think you’re lame, or Mr. Lonely – or both! But online dating is coming around as the ‘in’ way to land yourself a date. But first of all, decide what you want – true love, casual dating or just a one night stand, because that would influence your approach to the concept.

Be Real - Believe me, you do not want a username like ‘bigdaddy69’ or ‘naughtyboyrahul’ – girls steer clear from such potential stalker names. If you do not want to reveal your name, be creative. You can do so much better than these. And you need to be honest in your profile. Saying you are an amateur singer if your best performances are in the shower would be stretching it a little far.

‘Face’ It - You might not have the looks of Ryan Gosling, but if you want to camouflage that in Instagram-ish blurs or silhouettes or even an artsy side profile, you will anyway not have many takers, boy. We are thinking three-fourths front profile, with decent attire and all smiles. Everyone is looking for fun, not for pseudo serious uncles. Oh, and if you do have the looks of Gosling and his body, to boot – it will still be a no-no to have a topless profile photo.

Deciphering Her Picture - While you might go ahead and play honest, the other party might use all her Photoshop skills. First guideline: the person is never as good-looking in real life, as their profile picture. Second guideline: If you are going to judge by pictures, check her last few pictures rather than the first few. Always more real than the highlighted profile picture!

Chivalry Is Not Dead - Equality rules and all that – but more often than not, you will find that nice girls would rather that you make the first move. Not that we are saying that only desperate and not-so-pretty women mail you first – but usually the good ones would wait for you to make first contact. But while you do that, you need to phrase it carefully.

‘Hello, I Love You’ - … Which brings us to this. You don’t want to scare her off, you don’t want to be a douche and you don’t want to bore her to death. So what you do is to keep away from innuendos, clichés, jokes and desperation while writing her the ‘hi’ note. Two paragraphs tops – be succinct and indulge in a self-depreciating humor. Girls love it. If you have something in common, mention in – and save the anecdotes for the date.

The Real Deal - So you finally landed a date! Congratulations … but that’s only half the battle won. The first date is just a sample test – to check if all that you were online is for real. Now it is important not to blow your chance by showing your weird, nervous chuckles or worse – having nothing to say. This is where the anecdotes come in. Keep it light – it is bad enough for two strangers meeting in a public place with romantic intentions than to go overboard and kill it on the first date.

Dinner, Coffee Or Drinks - Never, ever meet your date for a dinner – if things work out, there will be lot of chances for that. Coffee again is the other side of the pole – too casual, to say the least. Meeting up for drinks, on the other hand, is the perfect first date. Firstly, it is casual enough to not intimidate either of you and secondly, the alcohol can help a lot to calm those nerves. Again, you do not want to get pissed drunk – and make a complete fool of yourself.

The Dealbreaker - Let’s say that the deal does not work out – before or after the actual date. Either you do not find the other person interesting, or vice versa. Well, if this is before you met up, it is totally cool to simply not reply to the other person’s mail. This is one of the blessings of anonymous profiles on the internet. But if you did meet up and things were lukewarm – well, let her down easy and pass on that “I-had-fun-but-you-are-not-the-type-I-am-looking-for” line.

All Said And Done - Well, at the end of the day, you might face rejection or might not find exactly what you are looking for. But if you approach it with this fallibility factor, you can deal with all of that. Remember, people are there on the site because they too are looking for companionship – in whatever form that may be – and they mean business. Well hey, if you can open up to meeting strangers for drinks, you are on your way to opening up and finding that perfect match. One date at a time.

Most old school guys would rather find a girl the traditional way, but like it not – online dating is the future of finding your match. Don’t knock it till you have tried it – and given these tips and guidelines, you might just find yours!

Chivalry Is Not Dead - Equality rules and all that – but more often than not, you will find that nice girls would rather that you make the first move. Not that we are saying that only desperate and not-so-pretty women mail you first – but usually the good ones would wait for you to make first contact. But while you do that, you need to phrase it carefully.